For much of his hockey career, and certainly most recently in the junior A British Columbia Hockey League, Alex Newhook recorded far more assists than goals, suggesting that perhaps the 19-year-old St. John’s hockey phenom is a pass-first, play-making kind of centre.
In 2017-18, his rookie season with the Victoria Grizzlies, Newhook registered 66 points in 45 games, en route to winning BCHL and Canadian junior A rookie of the year honours.
Of the 66 points, 44 came via assists on teammates’ goals.
The next season in Victoria, when he led the BCHL in scoring and copped league MVP honours (he was also the Canadian junior A MVP), Newhook registered 38 goals and 66 helpers in 53 games.
A centre on one of Canada’s top two lines at the 2021 world junior hockey championship which opens Christmas Day in Edmonton (Canada’s first game is Boxing Day against Germany, 7:30 p.m. NL time, TSN), Newhook may well be a nifty setup man down the middle, but he’s also a finisher, too.
Last season, his first in U.S. college hockey, Newhook scored 19 goals in 34 games for Boston College, leading all NCAA freshmen in goals and winning Hockey East conference and NCAA rookie of the year honours.
So far, as Canada prepares for the world juniors in Alberta, Newhook has been skating between fellow U.S. collegian Dylan Holloway of the University of Wisconsin, and Val d’Or Foreurs Quebec Major Junior Hockey League winger Jakob Pelletier.
The trio found instant chemistry.
Dawson Mercer of Bay Roberts has been used as the 13th forward in practice this week.
“To play with Hollsy and Newy, two fast, smart forwards, it’s pretty easy,” Pelletier said this week in a Zoom video conference with reporters. “I think we complement each other.”
“Pelts is a guy with a lot of hockey sense and he’s playing the game the right way,” said Canada’s head coach, Andre Tourigny. “Newy is strong, can skate really well, can play really well in his zone and Holloway is a guy who can disturb the opponent with his forecheck, can hold onto the puck and is really strong physically.”
Tourigny said he plans on using the Newhook line head-to-head against the top lines on other teams in the tournament.
“Having that speed, I think, is huge in being able to shut down plays quickly,” said Newhook, the Colorado Avalanche’s first pick, 16th overall, in the 2019 NHL Draft. “I think our line is going to do a very good job of that. Our line brings a lot of speed and a lot of compete.
“We’ll be intense all over the ice,” he said. “We use a lot of speed at BC (Boston College), and we’ll be aggressive here, on top of pucks.”
Team Canada’s three goalies — Devon Levi, Dylan Garand and Taylor Gauthier also spoke with reporters this week via Zoom, and Levi had high words of praise for his fellow U.S. collegian.
“Newhook is super smart,” said Levi, who tends goal for another Boston university, Northeastern. “He likes picking corners, too, and he’s a real smart player. He knows where to shoot.”
And when to shoot, it seems.
The tournament will be played in a “bubble,” similar to the NHL playoffs. That means no fans in the stands, a significant setback for the home team.
“Yeah,” Newhook said, “that’s unfortunate. Everyone wants to have that energy in their home rink.
“The world juniors is such a large stage, we know the whole country is behind us. But we’ll definitely have to supply our own energy, and we have a lot of guys in the room who can do that really well.”
Robin Short is The Telegram’s Sports Editor.
